Iga Swiatek endured a far from vintage 2026 season this year, which concluded with the star not winning a Grand Slam for the first year since 2021.

Swiatek’s poor form in the first section of the season saw her split with her coach Wim Fissette, and she subsequently hired Rafael Nadal’s former coach, Francisco Roig.

The Pole’s fortunes have slightly brightened under the Spanish coach, but Swiatek only managed to win one WTA Tour title throughout the entirety of the 2026 season.

That came at the Canadian Open as Swiatek beat Elena Rybakina in the final to claim the 12th Masters title of her career so far.

Swiatek’s season ended with a whimper too as she was forced to end her season early after suffering a leg injury at the Wuhan Open.

That means she will not play the WTA Finals for the first time since 2019, but Rennae Stubbs believes Swiatek’s extended break could be good for her career.

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Speaking on The Rennae Stubbs Podcast, the Grand Slam winner said: “I think this is probably a good move for her. It has been an unbelievably up and down and all over the shop year for her.

“So I think this might actually be a massive bonus for her to shut down her season earlier than she would have normally and certainly earlier than she has for many years.

“I think it might be an underlying given that this is a good thing for her. Maybe if she is going to stick with this coaching situation that she has got now.“She can go away and work on the game that she felt that under Wim Fisette dove and plummeted.

“She lost a lot of confidence, maybe she is starting to get it back slightly but it’s still not great. I think it’s a good thing for her.”

Swiatek currently sits at world No 8 in the WTA Tour rankings, but that is expected to drop after the remaining events on the 2026 calendar.

Should she fall out of the top eight of the rankings she could be in for an even tougher time at next year’s Australian Open.

The top eight ranked players at a Grand Slam are guaranteed protection from playing any other top-eight player until at least the quarterfinals. They also avoid playing any seeded player from the top 32 until the third round.

That means Swiatek will very likely receive a much tougher draw as she makes her return at the Australian Open next January. However, the Pole has proved throughout her career that she can beat anyone in the world when she is at her best.